The present invention relates to a damping mechanism of an opening and closing member, such as a door or a lid body, that opens and closes, i.e. covers, an opening while changing the center of rotation, as well as a container holder and an automobile door provided with the same.
As an example of an opening and closing member that opens and closes an opening, such as a door or a lid body, the present applicant has previously proposed a container holder provided in a center console of an automobile, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000374564. As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the container holder is constituted by a main body 100 and a lid body 102, and a holding part (not illustrated) for holding a container provided on the main body 100 can be opened and closed by the lid body 102.
A pair of shaft support parts 102A is provided on both sides of the lid body 102. Also, shafts 108, 110 are respectively fixed to the shaft support parts 102A with a specific interval. The shafts are inserted into an arc-shaped guide hole 106 formed on the side of the main body 100, and they are capable of moving along the guide hole 106.
Also, a small sector gear 112 is coupled around the shaft 108, and a damping gear 114 is engaged with the small sector gear 112. Meanwhile, a sector gear 116 is coupled around the shaft 110, and a damping gear 120 is engaged with the sector gear 116.
Therefore, when the shaft 108 moves along an arc-shaped branch path 106A that branches upward from the guide hole 106, a force of an opening spring 118 is damped by the engagement between the small sector gear 112 and the damping gear 114. When the shafts 108, 110 move inside the guide hole 106, the force of the opening spring 118 is damped by the engagement between the sector gear 116 and the damping gear 120.
By this configuration, it is possible to damp the force of the opening spring 118 continuously from the start of opening to the completion of opening, even if the lid body 102 changes a movement track in the middle of the course. However, with a construction such as the above, two damping gears are provided and the mechanism becomes complex, thereby increasing a cost.
In consideration of the above situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a damping mechanism of an opening and closing member that is capable of damping from the start of opening to the completion of opening of an opening and closing member, as well as a container holder and an automobile door that include the same, the damping mechanism being inexpensive with a simple construction.